A developer has revived plans for four new flats above a commercial block in Bedford, eight years after the scheme was last approved and never built.
The application seeks permission to add a third storey to 75–79 Tavistock Street, creating four one-bed flats on the building’s flat roof.
The applicant’s planning statement confirms the new submission is a “resubmission of 16/02908/FUL to reinstate the consent,” using the same design and layout as the 2017 scheme.
They said that although the council’s development plan has changed since (the current Local Plan was adopted in 2020 and the current version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in 2024), the assessment made by the council in the officer’s report for 16/02908/FUL “still applies to the proposal”.
There was an earlier application in 2009, and a time extension was granted in 2012.
The site lies within the Bedford Conservation Area, but previous assessments found the building had a “neutral or negative” contribution to the area’s character.
The application states that the council’s conservation officer previously concluded the additional storey “would preserve the overall character of the area”.
If approved, the extension would provide four single-bed units and reduce the building’s off-street parking from 11 to nine, with one parking bay converted to covered cycle storage.
More information can be found on the council’s planning portal, reference 25/02200/FUL.
The overall consultation expiry date is Wednesday, 24 December 2025.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
